Sylvan Heights Bird Park Offers Unique Visitor Experience
Nestled in southern Halifax County is a facility unlike nearly any site in North Carolina and beyond.
The Sylvan Heights Bird Park is operated by a non-profit organization and is designed to give visitors an unforgettable up-close experience with more than 2,000 ducks, geese, swans, and other exotic birds [...]

Farm Equipment Technicians Need Host of Skills to Keep Machines Running
North Carolina farmers can’t plant or harvest crops nor raise and care for livestock without a wide array of heavy equipment. Tractors, skid-steers, combines and more all are put to work regularly.
Operating in hostile conditions takes a toll on these machines. Chatham County Farm Bureau [...]

Wilkes County Farm Bureau member Clark Mastin examines his corn before harvest in mid-September.

Farmers, Researchers Work Diligently to Keep Pests Out of Crops
Nowadays the effectiveness of scarecrows might be pretty limited with the number of creatures that can wreak havoc on the many crops produced in North Carolina. The most predominant place a [...]

N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson summed up the jubilation that’s going on in Raleigh this year. “One hundred and twenty-five years ago, four guys came together and said, ‘We’re going to create an amazing university that serves the people of North Carolina and people of America by doing world-class research and world-class education in [...]

A total of 5,228 wildfires, like this one on Juniper Road in Pender County, destroyed 21 homes and nearly 100,000 acres of forestland last year in North Carolina.
It’s one of the more famous quotes found in TV commercials and on posters. Smokey Bear points at you with shovel in hand and wraps up the message [...]

Elise Johnson has cooked native cuisine from all around the world, ranging from her ancestral home of Portugal, to India, Uzbekistan, South Africa, and of course, North Carolina.
No matter how simple or complicated the dish, Johnson declares that every one of her recipes and cooking techniques all contain the same ingredient.
“Love,” she says about cooking, [...]

Just when Kent Fann thought he wanted to quit the agriculture business altogether, a life-changing event caused the Sampson County Farm Bureau member to want to return to the family farm as quickly as possible. That was 25 years ago.
Fann suffered a spinal cord injury during a go-kart accident, leaving him without the ability to [...]

Since 1986, the two-acre pond strategically located on Danny McConnell’s farm in Henderson County has been a plant lifeline during both frosts and drought-like conditions.
McConnell, who serves as county president and on the state board of directors, sends water through a state-approved pump to irrigate peppers, cucumbers, asparagus and other vegetables that end up on [...]

Back in 1958, North Carolina Farm Bureau established a scholarship fund in honor of R. Flake Shaw, a Guilford County farmer who served as executive vice president and helped to steer the organization through a critical point in its history.
Now, the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship has aided more than 250 aspiring agriculture professionals to acquire [...]

Nestled within mountain slopes dotted with some of the best Christmas tree farms in North Carolina is the Alleghany Challenge Course, a facility that’s become a fixture within the county school system. Organizers hope to develop it even further.
The Alleghany Challenge Course is derived from the ideas and enthusiasm of Glenn Wing, a Massachusetts native [...]